BlePad vs BlueMote

BlePad turns your iPhone into a wireless remote controller for BLE UART devices — perfect for micro:bit, ESP32, and any Nordic UART Service (NUS) compatible hardware. Great for electronics projects, education, and robotics. ■ Four built-in remote screens Game Controller D-pad (up/down/left/right) and A/B buttons with full multi-touch support. Numpad Digits 0–9 plus arithmetic keys (+, −, ×, ÷). QWERTY Keyboard Full alphabetic layout, optimized for landscape orientation. Custom Remote Freely arrange widgets on a 12-column × 8-row grid in landscape mode. Choose from Buttons, ON/OFF Switches, and Sliders (horizontal or vertical). Set custom labels, command values, colors, and sizes for each widget. Long-press repeat sends the button command every 100 ms. Pro unlocks up to 20 saved layouts, and layout names can be up to 20 characters. ■ Share your layouts Share the custom remote layouts you've created with other phones. Export a layout as a JSON file and send it however you like — AirDrop, email, cloud storage, and more. Import a layout someone shared with you to start using the same setup right away. Exporting is available in the free version; importing requires Pro. ■ Receive Log Displays incoming BLE UART notifications in real time as a timestamped text log (up to 100 entries). ■ Free vs Pro Free (ad-supported) • Game Controller, Numpad, Keyboard: full access • Custom Remote: create, use, edit, and export 1 layout • Receive Log: full access Pro (one-time purchase) • Everything in Free • Custom Remote: up to 20 layouts, plus layout import • Ad-free ■ Technical specs • Protocol: Nordic UART Service (NUS) • Write / Write without response, max 20 bytes per packet (auto-detected from characteristic properties) • Command format: +ID\n on press, −ID\n on release • Requires iOS 17.0 or later ■ Compatible devices • BBC micro:bit (V1 / V2) • ESP32 (requires NUS-compatible BLE UART firmware) • Any Nordic UART Service (NUS) compatible BLE device Note: BLE stability depends on your environment. For robotics or safety-critical use, we recommend implementing emergency stop logic on the device side.

The BLE multitool for robot control. Your iPhone, iPad, or Mac becomes a gamepad for any robot that speaks Bluetooth Low Energy. You write two lines that map sticks to motors. Direct packets. No cloud. No lag. WHAT YOU GET • Universal controls — thumbsticks, buttons, D-pad, trims, and triggers • Use a real controller — plug in or pair a standard gamepad; sticks and buttons drive the same packet as the on-screen pad • Two-way communication — text or live video back from the robot while you drive • Direct BLE — tiny packets, no cloud in the middle TWO LINES. OR BLOCKS. BlueMote is not a robot-specific app. Complexity lives on the phone. On the robot you read stick values and drive motors. MicroPython: turn, speed = rcv.controller_state(L_STICK_HOR, L_STICK_VER) drive(speed, turn) A blocks editor works the same way: a BlueMote service block, then map sticks to motors. WORKS WITH Any device that implements Nordic UART. Libraries and examples: https://bluemote.app STREAMING VIDEO Turn on MJPEG and the camera feed sits behind the controls. Drive with the sticks, see what the robot sees. Separate from BLE — the radio stays free for the packets. FREE TO DOWNLOAD. NO ADS. 15 minutes of driving per day for prototypes and code tests. PRO (ONE-TIME UNLOCK) • Unlimited driving • Remember a robot name so CONNECT skips the scanner in a crowded room Docs and examples: https://www.antonsmindstorms.com/docs/bluemote/ Site: https://bluemote.app